Shaken

Chapter 6- At the hospital

"Piper Halstead, Female, 6 years old, Traumatic injuries from an explosion."

Will Halstead looked up from his computer when he heard Piper's name. He looked over and could feel his heart drop to his stomach.

"Doctor Manning, Trauma 2!" He heard Maggie say as the two paramedics wheel his niece into a room. He made his way over to Maggie, forgetting to log off his computer.

"Hey Maggie-", He started to say. "Go ahead Will." She responded, giving him a soft smile.

"Thank you!" He said, giving her a quick hug before hurrying away to the trauma bay.

Piper opened her eyes as she felt herself being lifted onto a bed. A crowd of people surrounded her. She was confused and scared. Tears blurred her already fuzzy vision as the chaos seemed to swallow her whole. Piper cried out in agony. She wanted this nightmare to end.

Will rushed into the room, frantically pulling blue latex gloves over his hands. He looked at Natalie, "What do we have?" he asked as he approached the bed.

Natalie started to speak when she was cut off by Piper's voice. "U-un..uncle Will?" She said, trying to remove the oxygen mask with her left arm. Will took Piper's hand and put the oxygen mask back on the little girl's face. "That's right kiddo. I'm right here." he said kneeling to be closer to her face.

"I- I'm," It was becoming painful for the girl to speak,"Sca-sca..scared" she struggled. Will squeezed her hand, "It's gonna be okay."

"Will I've got to get a chest tube in." Nat said, trying to rush him along. She started to attach a syringe to Piper's IV.

Piper recognized that voice "Au-Au..nt Nat?" She gasped out, turning her head in Nat's direction. Natalie smiled slightly "Hey Piper." she said gently, honored that Piper had referred to her as 'Aunt' even though she and Will weren't married yet. She had always been fond of the kid.

"I'm going to give you some medicine that's going to make you feel sleepy so I can put in a tube to help you breathe." Natalie explained to the girl. "It's perfectly alright to go to sleep if you feel like it, ok?"

Piper nodded and looked back up at her uncle who gave her hand a supportive squeeze.

Natalie pushed the liquid out of the syringe and then set it beside Piper's right hip. Will held Piper's hand tight, and tried to calm her as much as possible as the liquid entered her bloodstream.

In less than a minute Piper began to feel the effects of the sedative. Her eyelids drooped and she felt her whole body relax. She drifted peacefully to sleep.

What seemed like only seconds later she was awoken by someone gently rubbing her arm. 'Hadn't she just fallen asleep?', she thought to herself, 'Why were they waking her up already?'

She opened her eyes and groggily gazed at her parents standing above her. She tried to talk but due to the new tube in her throat it was only a quiet whining sound, "Ungghh".

Erin looked down at her daughter, trying her best to keep a brave face. She grabbed Piper's hand in her own and held it tight. "I'm here." She said, her voice breaking a little bit. Erin knelt down next to her child's bedside, "I love you so much." she whispered before kissing Piper's forehead.

Piper could feel the tears rolling down her cheeks. "Unnnughh." she gurgled letting go her mom's hand and reaching out for her dad. Erin stepped back so Jay could be close to her for a minute.

Jay knelt down taking her hand. The feelings of guilt and anger welled up inside of him. "I love you, Piper." He said trying to talk over the lump in his throat. As he spoke he felt a tear slip from his eye.

Piper put her hand on his cheek and did her best to brush away the tears, something that he always did when she was upset. Jay smiled sadly as she continued to wipe away his stream of tears. How could someone ever hurt this sweet little girl?

"I hate to interrupt but we need to get her to surgery now," Natalie said coming back in the room.

Jay gave a firm squeeze to Piper's small hand "I love you so much." he repeated in a hushed voice as nurses began flooding the room.

He stepped back and joined Erin as nurses wheeled the bed out of the room, leaving Erin and Jay alone in the trauma bay.

Will stuck his head around the door, "Hey you can follow me to the meeting room, Nat will be down in a minute to meet with you." He said.

Jay grabbed Erin's hand and nodded at his brother. The two followed him around the corner to a small room with a table in it.

Erin took her seat, grasping tightly to Jay's hand. His presence was the only thing keeping her calm. She had seen pain, she had seen violence, but not even years of elite police work could've prepared her to see her only child clinging to life in a hospital bed.

Jay could feel Erin's grip tightening on his hand, to the point where he could feel her nails digging into his skin. He could've cared less though, his mind was in a different place entirely. He couldn't seem to shake the feeling of dread that lay in the pit of his stomach.

"I can call Voight if you-" Jay started to offer mindlessly before being cut off. "I should do it Jay." Erin said quietly, pulling out her phone.

Jay nodded and leaned back in his uncomfortable, plastic chair. He watched as Erin shakily dialed Hank's number

She held the phone up to her ear and waited.

"Hey Erin. Where are you and Halstead? We've got a case." Hank answered in his typical gruff voice.

"At Chicago Med..." Erin choked up a bit. Jay squeezed her hand tightly.

"Erin what's going on? Are you Ok? Is Halstead ok? Is Piper...." Hank trailed off, "Oh my god..."

"Hank...?" Erin asked tearfully.

"I'm on my way."

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A/N

Hello!

First off, I would like to thank you all so much for your patience. I apologize for taking so long to update my chapter. It took me a while to get it to a place where I felt happy with my writing. I really hope you enjoy it!

As always, I would love to hear any feedback or suggestions you might have for me. Feel free to let me know how you think I'm doing!

Thank you for taking the time to read my work, I truly appreciate it.

Sending love to each and everyone of you out there! Stay safe!❤️❤️❤️